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Zuckerberg,Bezos,Gates.Behind Every Self-Made Millionaire Is a Father with Money

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Re: Zuckerberg,Bezos,Gates.Behind Every Self-Made Millionaire Is a Father with Money

#51

Post by mcpackieh »

rewmie wrote: post #36
mcpackieh wrote: post #5

> Behind Every Self-Made Millionaire Is a Father with Money Dumb headline, obviously wrong. It may be true for those billionaires but there are many millionaires for which this isn't true. I know single-digit millionaires who ran away from home as teenagers and never had anything to do with their parents again.

> It may be true for those billionaires but there are many millionaires for which this isn't true. The term "with money" is subjective and open to interpretation, but I don't think that it means "middle-class" either. Due to inflation, the term "millionaire" today does not convey the same meaning that it did a few years ago. Middle class families with high 5-/low six-digit incomes can aspire to become millionaires by…

I agree, but the article was written in 2023 when middle class families can reasonably aspire to become millionaires, so making the headline talking about millionaires being impossibly privileged just seems inexcusably lazy and dishonest to me.

Re: Zuckerberg,Bezos,Gates.Behind Every Self-Made Millionaire Is a Father with Money

#52

Post by rewmie »

Turing_Machine wrote: post #37
rewmie wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> So his "father with money" is a Cuban immigrant? That kind of changes the narrative. An Exxon engineer is hardly a homeless begger.

It's also hardly a billionaire. Engineers are solidly middle-class.

> It's also hardly a billionaire.

I don't think the argument is that only billionaire heirs have a running start in life and access to significant family investments and connections.

Also, I think that we can agree that a Cuban national that is employed by Exxon as an engineer can provide way more opportunities to their children than your average cuban immigrant.

Re: Zuckerberg,Bezos,Gates.Behind Every Self-Made Millionaire Is a Father with Money

#53

Post by Turing_Machine »

sharts wrote: post #40
Turing_Machine wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Everyone who knows anything at all about mining knows that "owning a mine" (any kind) says nothing whatsoever about the wealth of the owner. It's quite common to put more money into the ground than you ever get back out. I've known several gold mine owners over the years. To be blunt: none of them had a pot to piss in. Some of them made enough to get by, but that's it. Others had to subsidize their mines by working i…

Takes money to buy mines. Whether that was a good/bad investment isn’t the point.

Not much.

In the U.S. you can just file a claim. There are processing fees, etc., but those aren't that much.

Or you can buy one that someone else has claimed and not have to do all the paperwork.

Ten gold mining claims for sale, right here. All filed and proved up. US$12k each.

https://hopemining.com/claims/six-mile-claims/

There are hundreds of others.

Perhaps things are different in South Africa, but I seriously doubt it.

Re: Zuckerberg,Bezos,Gates.Behind Every Self-Made Millionaire Is a Father with Money

#54

Post by Turing_Machine »

rewmie wrote: post #48
Turing_Machine wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> convince themselves that the teenager who was walking around with emerald from his family's mine in his pockets was not a rich privileged kid Most emeralds (and other precious stones, too, but especially emeralds) that come out of the ground are essentially worthless. https://www.amazon.com/Gemhub-Quality-Emerald-Natural-Wrappe... There you go. Now you, too, can "walk around with emeralds in your pocket". 12 bucks.

> Most emeralds (and other precious stones, too, but especially emeralds) that come out of the ground are essentially worthless. As the legend goes, a 16 year old Elon walked into Tiffany's with two emeralds in his pocket which he sold for around $2k only to learn that they were worth 30 times that value. You can Google for the references if you'd like.

"The legend"?

https://www.snopes.com/news/2022/11/17/elon-musk-emerald-min...

Yeah, I think we're done here.

Re: Zuckerberg,Bezos,Gates.Behind Every Self-Made Millionaire Is a Father with Money

#55

Post by jwestbury »

sys_64738 wrote: post #44

The narratives nowadays always try to paint Gates as a pillar of the community and ace businessman. But in reality his start was down to pure luck and then building a monopoly through illegal business practices and totally unethical behavior. The guy always will be a cretin.

I don't know, I've seen an increase in people viewing "philanthropists" as, essentially, oligarchs trying to go under the radar -- using their money to mold society in the way they think is best, and ultimately just exercising power in a way that seems altruistic. Perhaps sometimes it is altruistic -- but there are clear examples of continuing to spend money on ideas they believe strongly in spite of the evidence (e.g., Bill Gates' billions spent on evaluating teachers based on test scores).
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